What was supposed to be a quick stop at Walmart to get her three-year-old son a treat turned into an hour-and-a-half ordeal for a Winnipeg woman on Wednesday.
“We had been at swimming lessons and he didn't get to go in the water because there was a pool fouling, so we were stopping at Walmart on our way to my fitness class to get him a little treat to cheer him up," Crystal Cousins told CTV Winnipeg.
"He's three, so as soon as we got in the store, the first thing he had to do was go to the restroom. So we went into the family washroom located at the back of the store, he did his thing, we washed our hands, we go to open the door and it is stuck."
Unable to open the door, Cousins used her cellphone to call the store’s customer service line for help.
"And they laughed because I was like, 'I'm trapped in your washroom,’” she said. “And they're like, 'Ha ha,' and I'm like, 'No, really, someone needs to come let us out.’”
Cousins said it took 10 minutes for the first employee to respond and another 10 minutes before a manager came to say that he was calling a locksmith.
Frustrated, Cousins called her mother who suggested contacting the fire department.
“They refused,” Cousins said of the store’s employees. “They said, if you want the fire department called, you'll have to do it yourself.”
After an hour-and-a-half, Cousins and her son were finally freed by the firefighters.
Speaking to CTV Winnipeg, a Walmart Canada spokesperson said the company is sorry to hear about the experience Cousins and her son had in the store. According to the company, an interior door handle mechanism was broken.
Cousins, however, said that the store’s response to the situation was unacceptable.
"I'd like to know what they would do if this ever happened again to make sure someone doesn't wait,” she said. "And I’d like some compensation for the stress, the time.”
With a report from CTV Winnipeg’s Josh Crabb
